It certainly looks like the G.I. Joe movie is definitely moving forward, with previous reports that Stephen Sommers had been hired on as the director, and now the powers that be have assigned screenwriter Stuart Beattie to take a crack at the script. Which comes as good news for anyone who has read the previous drafts of the movie and hated them. As in, HATED THEM. I have never read the earlier drafts of the screenplay myself, so I can’t comment on their merits. As for Stuart Beattie, his credits include Michael Mann’s “Collateral” and the uber popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” films. But then again, who DIDN’T dip their ink on the “Pirates” script at least once in their lifetime?

More from Variety:

Pre-production is expected to begin in the fall, with the studio eyeing a February production start and a summer 2009 bow.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura (”Transformers”) will produce alongside Hasbro’s Brian Goldner. Sommers and partner Bob Ducsay are also aboard in a producing capacity.

Story is set at Brussels-based G.I.J.O.E., an acronym for the Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, and revolves around an international co-ed force of operatives who use high-tech equipment to battle Cobra, an evil org headed by a double-crossing Scottish arms dealer.

Not saying I’m looking forward to this film, but how badly can it suck? Perhaps that’s not the right question…